Molded plastic track element for a toy railway



y 3, 1955 A. N. SMITH 2,707,606

I MOLDED PLASTIC TRACK ELEMENT FOR A TOY RAILWAY Filed Jan. 11, 1951 2Shee ts-Sheet l mlunm T .L E! 7. INVENTOR.

ATTORNEYS i .12. By 7 May 3, 1955 A. N. SM

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ITH ,707,606 MOLDED PLASTIC TRACK ELEMENT FOR A T0 I Filed Jan. 11, 1951eets-Sheet 2 M R? 64 so, m W ZNTOR.

United States Patent MOLDED PLASTIC TRACK ELEMENT FOR A TOY RAILWAYApplication January 11, 1951, Serial No. 205,545

17 Claims. (Cl. 246-464) This invention relates to toy railroads, andmore particularly to a track element in a toy railway system, especiallya crossover.

The conventional toy railway has rails spaced by simulated ties, eachrail being made of sheet metal bent to form a head, a web and a flange,and having a pin projecting longitudinally at one end, and being open atthe other end to receive a like pin when rail sections are joined end toend. In addition to the regular track sections, special track elementssuch as a crossover or a track switch are employed. These special trackelements usually require the assembly of many parts, and are ratherexpensive to manufacture. One object of the present invention is tosimplify and cheapen the manufacture of such track elements, and to thatend the element may be molded out of a suitable moldable plastic. This,however, complicates the problem of connecting the regular tracksectionsor rails to the molded plastic track element, and a furtherfeature and object of the present invention is to simplify the necessaryconnection. This is done primarily by projecting the molded trackelement beyond the ends of its own rails, and so dimensioning theprojection as to fit frictionally between the webs of the connectedmetal rails. In accordance with a further feature of the invention, someof the molded rails terminate in depressed trough-like channelsdimensioned to receive the pins of the metal rails.

Still another object of the invention is to give the molded trackelement an improved realistic appearance, which is done by molding studsat the sides of the simulated rails, said studs resembling the heads andnuts of track bolts employed in real railroads. A still further objectof the invention is to simplify the molding of the track element, andmore particularly to so design the track element that it may be moldedin a simple twopart mold without requiring the use of movable cores.Still another object is to apply the invention to a crossover, and tothereby provide an improved crossover.

To accomplish the foregoing general objects, and other objects whichwill hereinafter appear, the invention resides in the toy track elementsand their relation one to another as are hereinafter more particularlydescribed in the following specification. The specification isaccompanied by drawings in which: 7

Fig. l is a plan view of a molded plastic crossover embodying featuresof the invention;

Fig. 2 is a section drawn to larger scale and taken approximately in theplane of the line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 2a is a fragmentary view similar to a part of Fig. 2, but showing aminor modification;

Fig. 3 is a section taken approximately in the plane of the line 3--3 ofFig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a section taken approximately in the plane of the line 44 ofFig. l;

Fig. 5 is a section taken approximately in the plane of the line 55 ofFig. 1; Fig. 6 is a section taken approximately in the plane of the line6-6 of Fig. l;

Z,707,i% Patented May 3, 1955 Fig. 7 is a section taken approximately inthe plane of the line 77 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 8 is a bottom plan view;

Fig. 9 is a fragmentary bottom view showing the connection between thecrossover and a track section;

Fig. 10 is explanatory of one method of using the crossover;

Fig. 11 is a fragment of Fig. 6 drawn to enlarged scale to show adetail; and

Fig. 12 is a fragment of Fig. 7 drawn to enlarged scale to show adetail.

Referring to the drawing, and more particularly to Fig. 1, the trackelement may be any appropriate track element, and is here exemplified bya 90 crossover. The crossover has four main arms generally designated12, 14, 16 and 18 which, in the present case, are disposed at rightangles, but it will be understood that the arms of the crossover maycross at other angles. The crossover is molded out of plastic moldingmaterial, yet is adapted to be used with conventional metal railsections, the ends of two of which are indicated at 20 and 22 in Fig. 1.These may be conventional toy track sections having rails 24 and 26spaced by ties 28. Each rail is made of sheet metal bent to form a head30 (Fig. 2), a web 32, and a flange 34. The ties are also formed ofpieces of sheet metal. Each rail has a pin 36 (Figs. 1 and 3) at oneend, and is open at the other end to frictionally receive a like pinwhen the metal rail sections are joined end to end.

The crossover is molded out of a single body of molding material, and inthe molding operation is formed with eight arm rails 40. and four crossrails 42 which fill in the side gaps between the arm rails to leave onlya small crevice at the crossover points for passage of the flanges ofthe wheels. The crossover, as molded, further has eight arm guides 44,that is, guides for the inside faces of the wheel flanges, which guidesare formed on and constitute a part of the arms of the crossover. Thereare also four cross guides 46 which guide the inside faces of the wheelsor flanges at the center of the crossover. Each arm has two simulatedties 48 and 50, which are also formed integrally with the rest of thecrossover structure. Thus a single body of molding material is molded ina single molding operation to form all of the numerous parts of thecrossover.

In accordance with one important feature of the present invention, theends of the arms are projected beyond the ends of the arm rails, as isindicated at 52, and these projections are so dimensioned as to fitfrictionally between the webs of the paired sheet metal rails 24 and 26.Some of the arm rails, in this case the rails 40, and 54, 54, terminatein depressed trough-like channels 56 dimensioned to cradle the pins ofthe metal rails.

Fig. 2 of the drawing shows how the edges of the arm extension 52 arereceived with a tight frictional fit between the webs 32 of the rails.The cross-section of the material at this point is in the form of aninverted L, as is better shown in Fig. 4. The parts 58 extend downwardand are dimensioned to rest on the table or other surface which issupporting the simulated ties 48 and 50 of the crossover. The extensions52 are cut away or recessed, as is indicated at 60, in order to clearthe flange 34 of the track section, as is best shown in Fig. 2. Therelation of the molded plastic rails to the extension and the ties isshown at 40 in Fig. 4.

It is the ends of certain of these rails 49 which are depressed and madetrough-like to receive the pins of the sheet metal rails, and this isbest shown in Fig. 5., in which the troughs for receiving the pins areindicated at 64. Fig. 3 shows the relation of the pins 36 to the troughswhen the metal track section is added.

The wheels of the rolling stock do not bump at the pins 36 because theheight of the base 62 just inside the channels 64 is made such as tosupport the flange 100 of the wheel 102, as is indicated in broken linesin Fig. 3. A similar situation is preferably established at thecrossover points where there is necessarily a gap in the continuity ofthe rails. This is indicated in Fig. 6 in which it will be seen thatflange 10d of wheel 162 rests on a bearing surface 62 at the crossoverpoints. For improved appearance and simplicity in molding, the flangebearing surfaces 62 are preferably continued throughout the length ofthe crossover rails so that the crossover here shown the surfaces marked62 in Figs. 2 through 7 of the drawing all lie in a common plane, whichplane includes the tops of the projections 52, and which extendsthroughout the crossover, including the spaces between the crossrails 42and the cross guides 46. and the spaces between the arm rails and thearm guides 44, except at the converging ends of the arm guides. If theheight needed for extension 52 to frictionally fit the rails differsfrom that needed to support the wheel to accurately fit the rail, whilethe height just inside the head of the rail at the point 106 isestablished at the desired amount to fit the standard flange of therailroad system wheels.

Reverting now to Fig. 1 it will be seen that the cross rails 42. serveto connect the arm guides 44, and also that the free ends of the armguides 44 converge, thereby facilitating reception and guidance of thewheel flanges. The cross guides 46 are connected at their ends to form ahollow square.

At suitable points the crossover is molded with projections which givethe same a more realistic appearance. Some projections, such as thoseindicated at 70, may simulate the heads of spikes used to hold the railson the ties. Others, such as those indicated at 72, simulate the headsor the nuts of rail bolts.

in order to strengthen the crossover structure the arms are preferablyprovided with strengthening webs, indicated at 74in Fig. 1. On the otherhand, with a view to conserving the use of plastic the simulated ties 48and 50 are all made hollow, as is clearly indicated at 76 in Figs. 6 and8. This is also shown at 76 in Figs. 3 and 5, and there preferably aresteps at 77 because the top of the tie is at a higher level between therails than outside the rails.

The projections 52 for connecting the crossover to the metal tracksections are preferably joined by cross connections or ends 78. Theamount of projection is preferably made such that the cross connection78 reaches the cross tie 28 of the metal track section. However, thecross connection '78 is preferably stepped or recessed, as is best shownat 80 in Figs. 6 and 7, this being at such a height as to enable theupper portion to slide over the cross tie 28. This takes care of certainalready standardized toy track sections in which the cross tie at thatend of the track which has no pins, is spaced at little further from theend of the rail than is the cross tie at the end having the pins. Thusin the particular case here shown it will be seen at the righthand ofFig. 1 that the cross connection 78 just reaches the cross tie 28,whereas at the bottom of Fig. l the cross connection '78 overlies thecross tie 8d of the track section. The abutting relation shown at theright end of Fig. l is also shown in Fig. 9 looking from the bottom.

It will be noted that the design of the crossover is such that it may bemolded in a simple two-part mold without necessitating the use ofmovable cores. The mold opens with its parting plane parallel to theplane of the crossover. Thus the studs or simulated bolts 72 may be madecylindrical or be given a desired shape, preferably hexagonal as shown,because the parting plane may be carried up to the center line of theprojections. The scale of the drawing is too small to show the hexagonalshape in Fig. 6, but the enlarged fragment in Fig. l shows it. In thecase of those projections which overlie the reinforcing ledges 74, thatis, the projections indicated at 73 in Fig. 7, the projections are notmade hexagonal, and instead are carried down to the top surface of thereinforce ledge '74, in order to retain the advantage of using a simpletwo-part mold without movable cores.

, This is more clearly shown to enlarged scale in the fragmentary viewof Fig. 12.

The crossover is supported on the ties 48 and 50, and further by thedepending inner rims 58 of the extensions 52. In addition the centerportion of the crossover is supported by four ribs or supports indicatedat 31 in Figs. 6 and 7. The construction will be clear by reference toFig. 8, which is a bottom view and which clearly shows the four supports81, the rim or lower edge of the hollow ties 43 and 5t and the rim 53 ofthe extensions 52. Fig. 8 also shows the changes in configurationproduced by the introduction of the reinforce ledges 74, and theconvergence of the guide rails above the points 45.

The crossover may be used in various track layouts, a typical one beingthe figure eight shown in Fig. 10. In the drawing it till be seen thatthe figure eight is made up of six curved sections 82 at each end, eachcovering an arc of 45, and two straight sections 34 and 86 at each end,the straight sections being connected to the crossover, generallydesignated 88. The drawing has been made symbolical, the pins 90representing the end of a track section having pins, and by followingthe sections sequentially around the curve it will be seen the end ofthe section 86 towards the crossover is devoid of pins. Thus by makingthe crossover with two diametrically opposed arms adapted to receivepins (as at the top and bottom of Fig. l), and the other twodiametrically opposed arms adapted to receive rail ends without pins (asat the right and left of Fig. l) the crossover is properly made for usewith uniform track sections.

It is believed that the method of making my improved molded plastictrack element, and of using the same with metal track sections, as wellas the advantages thereof, will be apparent from the foregoing detaileddescription. It will also be apparent that while i have shown and described my invention in a preferred form, changes may be made in thestructure shown without departing from the scope of the invention assought to be defined in the following claims.

I claim:

1. A molded plastic track element for a toy railway, said element beingadapted for use with toy track sections having a pair of rails spaced byties, said track element having plastic molding material integrallymolded to form simulated ties and a pair of rails thereon. the end ofsaid element being projected beyond the ends of the said pair of railsand being so dimensioned as to fit between the webs of the pair of railsof the track section rails at the adjacent end of the track section.

2. A molded plastic track element for a toy railway, said element beingadapted for use with conventional toy track sections having a pair ofrails spaced by ties, each rail being made of sheet metal bent to form ahead, a web and a flange and having a pin at one end and being open atthe other end to receive a like pin when rail sections are joined end toend, said track element having tween the webs of the pair of sheet metalrails at the adjacent end of the track section, some of said elementrails terminating in depressed trough-like channels dimensioned toreceive the pins of the metal rails.

3. A molded plastic track element for a toy railway, said element beingadapted for use with toy track sections having a pair of rails spaced byties, said track element having plastic molding material integrallymolded to form simulated ties and a pair of rails thereon, the end ofsaid element being projected beyond the ends of the said pair of railsand being so dimensioned as to fit frictionally between the webs of thepair of track section rails at the adjacent end of the track section,said projecting end having a support dimensioned to rest on the samesurface as the ties but being stepped inwardly to clear the flanges ofthe pair of rails of the track section.

4. A molded plastic track element for a toy railway, said element beingadapted for use with toy track sections having a pair of rails spaced byties, said track element having plastic molding material integrallymolded to form simulated ties and a pair of rails thereon, the end ofsaid element being projected beyond the ends of the said pair of railsand being so dimensioned as to fit frictionally between the webs of thepair of track section rails at the adjacent end of the track section,and said plastic rails having horizontal projections simulating bolts.

5. A molded plastic crossover for a toy railway, said crossover havingarms which are adapted for use with toy track sections each having apair of rails spaced by ties, said crossover being a single body ofplastic molding material molded to form arm rails, cross rails, armguides, cross guides, and simulated ties, the ends of the arms beingprojected beyond the ends of the arm rails and being so dimensioned asto fit frictionally between the webs of the pair of track section railsat the adjacent end of the track section.

6. A molded plastic crossover for a toy railway, said crossover havingarms which are adapted for use with conventional toy track sections eachhaving a pair of rails spaced by ties, each rail being made of sheetmetal bent to form a head, a web and a flange and having a pin at oneend and being open at the other end to receive a like pin when railsections are joined end to end, said crossover being a single body ofplastic molding material molded to form arm rails, cross rails, armguides, cross guides, and simulated ties, the ends of the arms beingprojected beyond the ends of the arm rails and being so dimensioned asto fit frictionally between the webs of the pair of sheet metal rails atthe adjacent end of the track section, some of said arm railsterminating in depressed trough-like channels dimensioned to receive thepins or the metal rails.

7. A molded plastic crossover for a toy railway, said crossover havingarms which are adapted for use with conventional toy track sections eachhaving a pair of rails spaced by ties, each rail being made of sheetmetal bent to form a head, a web and a flange and having a pin at oneend and being open at the other end to receive a like pin when railsections are joined end to end, said cross over being a single body ofplastic molding material molded to form arm rails, cross rails, armguides, cross guides, and simulated ties, the ends of the arms beingprojected beyond the ends of the arm rails and being so dimensioned asto fit frictionally between the webs of the pair of metal rails at theadjacent end of the track section, some of said arm rails terminating indepressed troughlike channels dimensioned to receive the pins of themetal rails, said projecting arm ends having supports dimensioned torest on the same surface as the ties but being stepped inwardly to clearthe flanges of the track sections.

8. A molded plastic crossover for a toy railway, said crossover havingarms which are adapted for use with conventional toy track sections eachhaving a pair of rails spaced by ties, each rail being made of sheetmetal bent to form a head, a web and a flange and having a pin at oneend and being open at the other end to receive a like pin when railsections are joined end to end, said crossover being a single body ofplastic molding material molded to form arm rails, cross rails, armguides, cross guides, and simulated ties, the ends of the arms beingprojected beyond the ends of the arm rails and being so dimensioned asto fit frictionally between the webs of the pair of metal rails at theadjacent end of the track section, some of said arm rails terminating indepressed troughlike channels dimensioned to receive the pins of themetal rails, said cross guides being connected at their ends to form asquare.

9. A molded plastic crossover for a toy railway, said crossover havingarms which are adapted for use with conventional toy track sections eachhaving a pair of rails spaced by ties, each rail being made of sheetmetal bent to form a head, a web and a flange and having a pin at oneend and being open at the other end to receive a like pin when railsections are joined end to end, said crossover being a single body ofplastic molding material molded to form arm rails, cross rails, armguides, cross guides, and simulated ties, the ends of the arms beingprojected beyond the ends of the arm rails and being so dimensioned asto fit frictionally between the webs of the pair of metal rails at theadjacent end of the track section, some of said arm rails terminating indepressed trough-like channels dimensioned to receive the pins of themetal rails, said arm guides being connected to the intermediate crossrails.

10. A molded plastic crossover for a toy railway, said crossover havingarms which are adapted for use with conventional toy track sections eachhaving a pair of rails spaced by ties, each rail being made of sheetmetal bent to form a head, a web and a flange and having a pin at oneend and being open at the other end to receive a like pin when railsections are joined end to end, said crossover being a single body ofplastic molding material molded to form arm rails, cross rails, armguides, cross guides, and simulated ties, the ends of the arms beingprojected beyond the ends of the arm rails and being so dimensioned asto fit frictionally between the Webs of the pair of metal rails at theadjacent end of the track section, some of said arm rails terminating indepressed trough-like channels dimensioned to receive the pins of themetal rails, and said guides and rails having projections simulatingbolts for securing the rails.

11. A molded plastic crossover as defined in claim 5, in which there isa flange bearing surface at the ends and at the crossover points toprevent bumping where the wheels lack regular rail support.

12. A molded plastic crossover as defined in claim 5. in which there isa flange bearing surface at the ends and at the crossover points toprevent bumping where the wheels lack regular rail support, and in whichthe flange bearing surface is continued just inside the rails throughoutthe crossover or track element structure.

13. A molded plastic crossover as defined in claim 6, in which there isa flange bearing surface at the ends and at the crossover points toprevent bumping where the wheels lack regular rail support.

14. A molded plastic crossover as defined in claim 6, in which there isa flange bearing surface at the ends and at the crossover points toprevent bumping where the wheels lack regular rail support, and in whichthe flange bearing surface is continued just inside the rails throughoutthe crossover or track element structure.

15. A molded plastic crossover as defined in claim 7, in which there isa flange bearing surface at the ends and at the crossover points toprevent bumping where the wheels lack regular rail support.

16. A molded plastic crossover as defined in claim 7, in which there isa flange bearing surface at the ends and at the crossover points toprevent bumping where the wheels lack regular rail support, and in whichthe flange bearing surface is continued just inside the rails throughoutthe crossover or track element structure.

17. A molded plastic track element for a toy railway, said element beingadapted for use with toy track sections having a pair of rails spaced byties, said track element having plastic molding material integrallymolded to form simulated ties and a pair of rails thereon, the

end of said element being projected beyond the ends of the said pair ofrails and being'so dimensioned as to fit between the Webs of'the pair ofrails of the track section at the adjacent end of the track section, theprojected endjof said element being in the form of a broad U when viewedin plan, with the base of the U outermost and the ends of the Uconnected to the rails and the endmost crosstie of said element.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS976,722 Cowen Nov. 22, 1910 8 Grifiith Jan. 7, 1913 Westcott Aug. 19,1930 Peterson Dec. 2, 1930 Ottenstein Jan. 12, 1932 Pettit Aug. 16, 1949Levering July 31, 1951 Faber Nov. 27, 1951 FOREIGN PATENTS Germany May22, 1928

